Long Pond Ironworks Virtual Tour

Charging Bridge, Coal & Ore Houses and Railroad
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A charging bridge is a structure that leads to the top of the furnace. The iron ore, limestone, and charcoal or coal (collectively known as the "charge") were loaded into the furnace by dumping the charge down through the opening at the top. The last few years that the furnace was in operation, the charging bridge ran on a narrow gauge track supported by a trestle. The foundation for the trestle is still off in the woods at the edge of this bank and stone alignments mark the trestle tower foundations.

At the other end of the narrow gauge rail coal and ore houses were used to store the raw materials used in making iron.

The Montclair Railway and later the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway ran by the ironworks on their way up to Greenwood Lake. The tracks were finally completed here in 1872 and removed in 1938. Transportation had always been a problem here where iron had to be hauled out through the mountains by mule or ox drawn cart.


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